Reel for drying clothes, &amp;c.



s. T. WAGGONER & 1.11?. HEARD. REEL FOR DRYING CLOTHES, 6x0.

APPLICATION FILED MAAR. 21, 1910.

975,660. Patented Nav.15,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

nas NoRms PETERS cc., WASHINGTON. n. c

S. T. WAGGONER & T. T. HEARD.

REEL POB. DRYING CLOTHES, Gao.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1910.

Patented Nov. 151910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ggi-

THE NcRm's PETERS co., wAsHlNcroN. D. cA

sra" s SAMUEL-T. WAGGONER AND THOMAS T. HEARD, 0F BUFFALO, NEW' YORK.

REEL FOR DRYING CLOTHES, &c.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, SAMUEL T. VVAG- GoNEn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and THOMAS T. HEARD, a citizen of Canada, residing at Buffalo,in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Reels for Drying Clothes, &c., of which' thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a reel which is more particularly designed forsupporting a clothes drying line but which may be also used forsupporting a tent or a swing.

The object of this invention is the production of -a reel for thispurpose which is simple, durable and inexpensive in construc tion, andwhich can be easily and readily adjusted into different positions.

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 2 sheets: Figure l is a sideelevation of the reel embodying our improvement showing the same used asa tent and swing support. Fig. 2 is a top view of the saine showing thesame used for supporting a clothes drying line. Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryvertical section, on an enlarged scale, showing the means for raisingand lowering the upper part of the post and the parts carried thereby.Fig. 4 is a vertical section in line 4-et, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is afragmentary vertical section, on an enlarged scale, of the upper pivotof the head of the reel. Fig. G is a top plan view of the runner onwhich the sweeps are pivoted.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

In its general organization this reel comprises a post or mast having alower section A which is supported in the ground and an upper section Bmovable vertically on the lower section, and a horizontally rotatableturret or head C mounted on the upper post section.

The lower and upper post sections are preferably tubular and the uppersection telescopes or slides within the lower section upon raising andlowering the upper section. The upper post section is lowered for thepurpose of bringing the turret or head C within convenient reach of aperson on the ground and permit the clothes to be dried to be hung onthe turret or for mounting a tent or a swing on the turret in a mannerwhich will be presently more fully described. After the clothes, tent orswing have been Patented Nov. l5, 1910.

Serial No. 550,561.

mounted on the reel head the latter and the upper post section areraised, so that the clothes hang farther above the ground, the tentgives more head room or the swing clears the ground, as the case may be.The preferred means for raising and lowering the upper post section andthe parts mounted thereon comprise a bracket having a circular cap orsocket D which is secured to the upper end of the lower post section,and two arms d, d1 projecting laterally from the cap. A horizontal shaftE is provided with two circular journals y", f1 which turn in circularbearings e, el in the arms cl, d1, an intermediate square or flat-sidedpart g between said journals, and a square shank h at one end thereof.On the intermediate square part g is mounted a sprocket or gear wheel Gthe bore of which corresponds to the shape of the shaft section g, sothat the same are compelled to turn together. The teeth z' of thesprocket wheel are engaged with an upright row of openings I in theadjacent side of the upper post section which openings form practicallya gear rack. A hand crank J is provided for turning the shaft and gearwheel the same having a hub j which is provided with a flat-sided borefor receiving the shank it and which is secured to said shank by a pinjl, as shown in Fig. et, or by any other suitable means.

Upon turning the crank shaft and gear wheel the upper post section andthe parts mounted thereon may be either raised or lowered. These partsmay be held in a. raised position by means of a detentpawl or dog 7::pivoted on one of the bracket arms (Z1 and engaging with a ratchet wheelK on the shaft between its crank shaft and the adj acent journal f'.Upon disengaging the detent pawl from the ratchet wheel the crank shaftand gear wheel may be turned backwardly for lowering the upper postsection and the parts mounted thereon.

The crank shaft and the gear wheel are preferably formed in one pieceand in order to permit of inserting the shaft in the bearings e, el andthe bore of the gear wheel, the intermediate square part g of the shaftis made of smaller diameter than the journal f, and the journal f ismade of smaller diameter than the square part g, and the bearings c, eland the bore of the gear wheel are of corresponding diameters, therebyproducing a strong and durable construction at comparatively small cost.

' the neck.

rl`l1e shaft is held against displacement inv its bearings and in thegear wheel by a cotter or `pin Z passing transversely through the sameoutside of the bearings e. v

The turret of the reel is preferably constructed as followsllflyrepresents a cap secured to the upper end ofthe upper post section.On top of this cap is arranged a centering or pivot pin N having a lowerscrew threaded lend n which is secured in a `threaded opening inthe topof the cap, la cylindrical neck a" above the screw thread, and vanenlarged head., shoulder or collar n? above O represents a cup-shapedhub resting with its top 01 'on the top of the cap M and projecting withits depending vflange 02 downwardly around this cap. The top of this hubhas a central vopening 0' which receives the neck al, thereby centeringt-he hub on the -post cap M. The top of the hub is confined againstvertical movement lbetween 'the top of the cap M and the collar orshoulder n2 of the centering pin. On the outer side gof its flange Athehub is provided with a plurality of laterally proj ecting pivot ears 04.

P represents -a runner 'capable of slid-ing vertically on the upper postsection below the -cap thereof and comprising a collar 7) whichsurrounds this post section and which is Qprovided with a plurality oflaterally projectling pivot ears 791. The upward movement of this runnermay be 'limited by a stop collar Q which may be adjustably secured tothe upper post section above the runner by a set screw q.

R represents a plurality of sweeps arranged radially and preferablyhorizontally around the post and each pivotally connected at its innerend with the adjacent pivot ears of the runner.

S represents a plurality of inclined braces each of which is pivoted atits upper end to the adjacent ears of the hub while its lower end ispivotally connected with the adjacent sweep at a greater distance fromthe 4center of the post. On the upper sides of the sweeps are arrangedpins s to which the clothes line t may be secured in spider web fashion,as shown in Fig. 2, when the reel is to be used for drying clothes. Byshifting the stop collar Q up or down on the upper post section thesweeps may be inclined either one way or the other according to thedesire of the user.

Upon rotating the turret the clothes line may be conveniently applied toor removed from the line while the operator is standing in one place andthe clothes may be hung4 on the line and removed therefrom in the samemanner-.

If desired, the reel may be used to support 1 .a tent or canopy U byproviding the latter centrally with a. gromet u which Atits over theupper end of the centering pin N and at its edge with eyes u which litover hooks V at they outer ends of the sweeps, as shown in Fig. 1. The'sweeps may also support swings fu) on their undersides, as shown in Fig.1, so that by turning the turret a merry-go-round is produced.

1t will thus be seen that this reel is capable not only of practical useas a clothes drier but the same may also be used for com-fort when thecanopy or tent is attached thereto and also for amusement when theswings are added, 'thus producing a structure which permits of utilizingthe space of a lawn or yard to the best advantage.

'We claim as our invention:

1. A reel comprising a post having a lower tubular section adapted vtobe supported on the ground, an upper section movable vertically in thelower section and provided with a vertical row of openings, and meansfor raising said upper post section comprising a bracket having a capsecured on the upper end of :the lower post section and arms projectinglaterally from said ca p and provided with bearings, a shaft journaledin said bearings, a gear wheel mounted on said shaftbetween saidbearings and engaging its teeth with said openings of the upper postsection, and a crank handle Ysecured to one end of said shaft, saidshaft having a flat sided part which engages with a correspondinglyshaped bore of the gear wheel, a ournal of larger diameter than saidflat sided part on one side thereof and turning in the bearing of onebracket arm, and a journal of smaller diameter than said `flat sidedpart on the other side of the latter `and turning in the bearing of theother bracket arm.

2. A revel comprising a post, a cap secured to the upper end of saidpost, a centering pin secured at its lower end to said cap and providedabove the cap with a cylindrical neck and above the neck with anenlargement or collar, a cup-shaped hub having a top resting on said capand engaging with the underside of said enlargement and provided withlal central opening which receives said neck, a runner mounted on t-hepost, sweeps radiating from the runner and lbraces connecting said huband sweeps.

Witness our hands this 15 day of March, 1910.

SAMUEL T. NTAGGONER. THOMAS T. HEARD.

vWitnesses THEO. L. Porr, E. M. GRAHAM.

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